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In over 110 years of existence and continual growth, some characteristics of Tech have not changed. "Progress and Service" is still the motto of the Institute, and the rigor and practicality of the curriculum still produces some of the finest graduates that serve to meet the needs of our communities. Indeed, the greatest strength of the Tech curriculum is the preparedness for the workforce that is unparalleled in other institution's curriculums in this nation today. However, the engineer (a term loosely defined as those in professions that seek to find solutions using technology) is no longer the factory operator or machinist that it once was during Tech's first years. As the role and definition of engineer has changes, Tech is forced to change focus with it. Also, as the need for engineers only increases, Techs responsibility to meet this need forces it to change its approach to education.
Creating this "enriched, more prosperous, and sustainable" world implies that the engineers that come out of Tech should be those who not only understand their discipline but how that discipline relates to the world of economics, culture, finance, and politics. As leaders of this new world, these engineers must also learn to appreciate integrity, ethics, and challenge. In a more realistic sense, these "renaissance engineers" are the bridge for the gap between humanity and technology that employers seek. The Georgia Tech graduate must be a well-rounded individual to survive in this new society we hope to create.
Surprisingly enough, the direction of the Institute may not be completely congruent with what it calls its vision. With the semester conversion, the number of free elective hours required in many curriculums will be drastically reduced, and thus will provide less opportunity to create this well-rounded graduate. Thus, our hope must be that the Institute provide this support for versatility either through more cross-disciplinary learning or through the structures that lay outside the classroom. Thankfully, discussion on this topic has already begun at some levels of the institute.
What lies at the heart of the discussion of Tech's future, however, is the harmony we must find between over a century of tradition and a struggle to keep at pace with the world. The Tech community must find that balance between preparing students for the workforce and preparing them for the world, between the rigor of curriculum and the support we provide for it, and between educating for success and educating for the love of scholarship. We must hold true to the work ethic and academic challenge that make us uniquely Georgia Tech, but must balance it with humanitarian leadership and social responsibility to help us realize our vision.
The students who receive an education, the faculty and staff who can take pride in the education and support they provide, and the alumni whose degrees and affiliations with Tech become more valuable as Tech achieves greater heights are the stakeholders in the continued success of Tech. Thus, we are all partners in creating this new Georgia Tech, and we students, faculty, staff and alumni must approach each other as such. Together, "the alumni, faculty, students, and staff [can] define, expand, and communicate the frontiers of knowledge and innovation" to the citizens of the world who await our actions. Let us begin.